The One: Millennium
by Thesseli
Summary: A brief interlude in the Matrix on New Year's Eve, just before the project to unscorch the sky gets underway. (This is part of the "One" series, and the sequel to "The One: Exiles".)


"It's not as if it's suddenly going to become the year 2000 at the stroke of midnight, you know," mused the man in the dark glasses. "And everyone here knows that. Why bother celebrating?"

"Now son, let the people down there have some fun. Goodness knows they've been working hard enough; they deserve a little relaxation."

The man was undeterred. "The clock's just going to flip back to January 1st 1999, like it always does." The old woman's easygoing manner wasn't going to keep him from pointing this out, no matter how obvious it was to both the humans and Machines who had gathered here tonight to observe what essentially was a non-occasion.

It was New Year's Eve in the Matrix, 1999. And in an undisclosed section of the simulation, set apart from the main construct and under heavy guard, there was a nondescript office complex. Superficially it looked much like any other batch of professional buildings; but behind the carefully planned sculptures, landscaping, and architecture, it soon became apparent that this place was something very different. There were guards at every door, multiple gated checkpoints, and helipads with armed security officers dotting the roofs.

And at the very heart of the complex, in the central building, there was the most heavily fortified location of all. It was a command center, bristling with surveillance equipment, but the expected mass of personnel required to monitor it were not present. Instead, there were only two figures - the mother of the Matrix and her prodigal son, the unlikely savior of both humanity and the Machine civilization.

The Oracle sat at a table next to Smith: Smith the former agent, then virus, and now the One. They were surrounded by banks of equipment within the security center, gazing out unseen over a large room filled with people. The area was normally set up as a conference hall, but tonight was different. Tonight it was hosting a social gathering, a get-together for the redpills and programs who'd come to work on the Millennium project - the name given to the grand joint endeavor to clear the skies. The designation had been chosen both for its eye on the future ("a brand new millennium," as some of its more enthusiastic proponents declared) and for its official start date, which happened to fall right after the New Year's holiday. The fact that it was always 1999 in the Matrix and the simulation wouldn't be leaving the 20th century anytime soon didn't seem to matter to anyone...not even to the naysayers, who said it would likely take at least a millennium to come up with a viable solution to unscorch the sky.

So now Smith and the Oracle sat together in the project's security center, looking out over the conference room which had, for the evening, been turned into a place of hope and (cautious) celebration. The Zionites were still getting used to the idea of Machine programs that weren't trying to kill them, so trust was building slowly. But the redpills who'd volunteered for the project were doing their best to put aside their fears, and many were pleasantly surprised that most of the sentient programs they'd met were nothing like the agents who'd been the stuff of their nightmares since the time they were extracted.

_Speak of the devil_, Smith thought, as he caught sight of Agent Collins' team entering the room below. They looked even more vigilant than usual, as they initially hadn't wanted to leave Smith unguarded...even if he was going to stay in the project's fortress-like command center.

"It's our duty to stay here, with you, to ensure your safety," Collins had said stubbornly. Evans and Chapman had agreed, of course.

"You don't have to worry about me, this is probably the safest place in the entire Matrix," Smith had replied. And he was right. Even in the real, there was a ring of sentinels surrounding the docking ports for the humans' ships, guarding them unceasingly. The conference site was as heavily fortified in the physical world as it was in the simulation. "And considering I'm the One, I should be able to take care of myself for a little while, don't you think?"

In the end, it hadn't been Smith's prodding that made his bodyguards reluctantly concede to join the party. It was the assurance by the Oracle that nothing bad was going to happen if they did. Seraph was already down there, looking quite at ease among the mixed group of scientists and researchers, humans and programs. Collins and her team weren't much for mingling...maybe Seraph could help them with that, or even Jones and Brown. Those two were much more comfortable in social situations than the three newer agents.

From his vantage point, he could see his former partners clearly, and he was pleased that they were here. As promised, Jones and Brown had been reinstated by the system, and had even been made part of the project's security squad. In fact, they were two of the directors of the security force, paired with the preexisting team of Agents Clark, Ross, and Greer. This was to be such a massive undertaking that a simple team of three agents would not be enough to coordinate their efforts; five were deemed necessary for this duty.

And all of them were here tonight. Each of the five security leaders was an original agent of this iteration...and as such they were easily identifiable, even from up here, by their auburn hair. Smith had been rather relieved that Brown's and Jones' appearances had been returned to normal after their reconnection to the system. Seeing them looking so different as exiles had been almost as strange to him as his own form now seemed to them. Agents were designed to identify redpills, and Smith knew he stuck out like a sore thumb to them as a program in a human body.

He wondered if Brown and Jones looked any different to the other agents because of their time as exiles.

Smith was also pleased that the system had chosen the Clark/Ross/Greer triad to round out the security leaders. These three had been selected for their many years of experience, as well as their prior working relationship with Brown and Jones. Collins had reported that Smith's former partners had gotten more than a few rude stares after their reinstatement as agents, but Clark's team seemed more tolerant than some of their counterparts, particularly those who'd come online more recently. And although Jones and Brown betrayed no hint in public of their continuing relationship, his former partners did tend to stand closer together now than they ever did in the past. This made Smith smile, just a bit. But seeing all those people down there celebrating, as if they didn't have a care in the world, suddenly brought him back to reality.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" he said quietly. "Do you believe that we can clear the sky?"

The Oracle took a long drag on her cigarette. "I hope so."

His brow furrowed slightly; this wasn't the answer he'd hoped for. "But you're the Oracle. Shouldn't you be able to tell?"

"Not even I can see everything, son. You should remember that, from when you had my power."

He thought back to that time, before the final fight with Neo. "I could see...some things. But not their context, not what precisely had led up to them. Is that what you see when you focus on clearing the sky?"

She nodded. "Humans and Machines, working towards this. Our last, best hope for peace. I don't know how it will end, but I do know this is our best chance. And if it can be done, it will be done together, or not at all."

It was less than a minute to midnight, and now Smith turned his gaze back down to the people gathered below. He blinked in surprise. "Is Evans drinking champagne down there, or am I seeing things?"

The Oracle favored him with a sweet smile, her earlier solemnity vanishing like the latest puff of smoke from her cigarette. "Afraid your bodyguards might get drunk?"

Smith snorted. "As if a single glass of champagne could get an agent drunk." He leaned back in his chair, watching the end of the countdown. Yes, Evans was definitely drinking, and now it looked like most of the other people were raising their glasses as well, as they all counted down the end of the year together.

So much had changed, and was still changing. Less than a year ago the sight of a redpill/Machine gathering would have been beyond his comprehension; he would have laughed in the face of anyone who even suggested it. He was more used to the idea now, but it was still very surreal. He never would have guessed he'd ever see anything like this.

The clock struck 12, and the cheers went up, from the humans and the programs together.

"We are all evolving, son. You, me, the Matrix and Zion...even the agents. Everyone's seen a little glimpse of what could be the future, and they all want in on it." As if from nowhere, the Oracle produced a bottle of champagne and two glasses, and she smiled again. "And given that, who knows what we might accomplish?


End file.
